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posted by martyb on Tuesday September 23 2014, @11:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the who-CAN-you-trust? dept.

Phys.org reports:

If scientists want the public to trust their research suggestions, they may want to appear a bit "warmer," according to a new review published by Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

The review, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), shows that while Americans view scientists as competent, they are not entirely trusted. This may be because they are not perceived to be friendly or warm.

[...]

Focusing on scientific communication, Fiske and Dupree administered another online survey asking adults to describe public attitudes toward climate scientists specifically to provide a clearer picture of the public's seemingly mixed feelings. The researchers used a seven-scale item of distrust that included motives derived from pilot work on scientists' alleged motives. These included such motives as lying with statistics, complicating a story, showing superiority, gaining research money and pursuing a liberal agenda, among others.

The abstract for the paper can be found here.

Although distrust is low, the apparent motive to gain research money is distrusted. The literature on climate science communicators agrees that the public trusts impartiality, not persuasive agendas. Overall, communicator credibility needs to address both expertise and trustworthiness. Scientists have earned audiences’ respect, but not necessarily their trust. Discussing, teaching, and sharing information can earn trust to show scientists’ trustworthy intentions.

 
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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by hoochiecoochieman on Tuesday September 23 2014, @03:16PM

    by hoochiecoochieman (4158) on Tuesday September 23 2014, @03:16PM (#97183)

    How dare those eeeevil scientists being paid for their work! Oh, the horror! Scientists should be like every good God-fearing American, and work for free, solely for the pleasure of making their bosses rich!

    Those evil bastards, getting money to work. What will they ask for, next? 40-hour weeks? How dare they?

    Now seriously, if you don't trust those who caused the most spectacular advances ever in human well-being and are the main responsible for making your country the greatest world power, you are doomed. Who will you trust, then? Bankers? Lawyers? Preachers?

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 23 2014, @04:52PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 23 2014, @04:52PM (#97232)

    Now seriously, if you don't trust those who caused the most spectacular advances ever in human well-being and are the main responsible for making your country the greatest world power, you are doomed. Who will you trust, then? Bankers? Lawyers? Preachers?

    Engineers, obviously.